Corn-planter.



H. OHRISTOFFERSEN. CORN PLANTER. APPLIOATION FILED APR.12, 1912,

1,086,51 1. Patented Feb. 10, 1914.

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ATTO R N EY H. CHRISTOPFERSEN. 001m PLANTER.

- APPLIOATION FILED APR.12, 1912. 198651 1 Patented Feb. 10, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES ATTO R N EY llNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HANS CHRISTOFFERSEN, OF TILDEN, NEBRASKA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH TO JACOB C. BRUHN AND ONE-FOURTH T0 WILLIAM H. KLAS, BOTH 0F TILDEN, NEBRASKA.

C ORN-PLANTER.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HANS Grrnrsrorrnnsun, a citizen of the United States, residing at Tilden, in the county of Madison and State of Nebraska, have invented a new and useful Corn-Planter, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in corn planters.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of check row corn planters, and to provide a simple, eiiicient and comparatively inexpensive variable drop mechanism of great strength and durability, adapted to drop intermittently a predetermined number of kernels of corn, and capable of being readily adjusted for arranging it for dropping either two, three or four kernels to suit the character of the soil, thereby enabling corn of a more uniform size to be grown over the same field.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction and novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed outin the claims hereto appended; it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings :Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of a planter, provided with a variable drop mechanism, constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse sectional View on the line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged side view of the variable drop mechanism. Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view on the line 14: of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a similar view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view on the line 66 of Fig. 2. Fig. 7 is a detail view of the loose sprocket sleeve. Fig. 8 is a detail view of the shiftable gear sleeve.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

In the accompanying drawings in which is illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, the variable drop comprises in its construction a loose sprocket sleeve 1, mounted on a transverse counter-shaft 2 journaled Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 12, 1912.

Patented Feb. 10,1914.

Serial No. 690,333.

in suitable bearings of supports 3 and connected by gearing with a rotary transverse shaft 4 also mounted in suitable bearings of the said supports and extending across the planter and connected by suitable gearing 5 with the rotary seed disks of seed dropping mechanism of the ordinary construction. The counter-shaft 2 extends across the planter, and the loose sprocket sleeve, which is continuously rotated when the machine moves forwardly, is connected by a sprocket chain 6 with a sprocket gear 7, mounted on the axle 8. The inner end of the loose sleeve, which is enlarged, is provided with a pair of projecting horizontally disposed tappets, consisting preferably of rolls 9, mounted on suitable pivots or spindles 10, and adapted to be engaged by a spring actuated dog 11 pivoted at one end by a screw 12, or other suitable pivot to a support 13, fixed to the counter-shaft 2, whereby when the dog is in engagement with one of the tappets of the support 18, rotary motion will be communicated from the sprocket gearing to the counter-shaft. The dog 11 has a hookshaped engaging portion forming a recess 14: at the inner side edge to receive and engage with the tappets. The free end of the dog is extended and is provided with a curved edge or face 15, adapted to be engaged by a trip arm 16 of a transverse rock shaft 17, journaled in suitable bearings of the supports 3 and having a depending check row arm 18, located at one end of the rock shaft and provided at its lower terminal with a fork or bifurcation 19 through which passes the check row wire 20. The support 13 consists of a sleeve fixed to the counter-shaft 2 by a pin or key 21 and provided at one end with a circular head 22, arranged in spaced relation with the enlarged inner end of the loose sleeve to provide a space for the dog 11 and the co-acting tappets, and having a flat side face to which the dog 11 is pivoted.

The pivoted end 23 of the dog is enlarged and bifurcated to receive a spring 2 1, having a coil arranged on the pivot 12 of the dog. One end 25 of the spring is fixed to the circular head of the support 13 by a screw 26, or other suitable fastening device, and the other end 27 of the spring is arranged in the bifurcation of the dog and bears against the latter, which is urged inwardly by the spring, whereby the dog when released from its engagement with the trip arm 16 is caused to move inward quickly into position for engaging one of the tappets 8.

The check row wire 20, which is guided by grooved wheels 28, or other suitable guiding means, is provided at intervals with buttons 29 of the ordinary construction, adapted to engage the check row arm intermittently for rocking the shaft 17 to carry the trip arm 16 out of engagement with the dog. The trip arm 16 is fixed to the rock shaft by a key or pin 30, and the check row arm is adjustably secured to the rock shaft by a set screw 31, and it has suflicient weight to maintain the trip arm normally in position for engaging the dog and when the said check row arm is oscillated by a button of the check row wire, it will after being released by the button swing back to its normal position and return the trip arm to its position for engaging the said dog. The pulleys 28 are mounted on depending arms 32 of a bracket or plate 33, and they are located in advance and in rear of the check row arm.

When the trip arm is swung forwardly out of engagement with. the dog by the rearward movement of the check row arm, it releases the dog and the latter springs inwardly and locks the counter-shaft rigid with the loose sleeve, and the said countershaft makes one revolution before the dog is again caught by the trip and moved by the same out of engagement with the tappet of the loose sleeve. This rotary movement of the counter-shaft is communicated to the shaft 4: and to seed disks of seed dropping mechanism by a shiftable gear sleeve 34:, slidably mounted on the shaft 2 by means of a key 35 and a groove 36 and equipped with a plurality of gear elements 37, 38 and 39, adapted through the sliding movement of the sleeve to be brought into position to co-act with. a gear 40, fixed to the shaft 4 by a set screw 4-1, or other suitable means. The teeth of the gear element 37 extends entirely around the shiftable sleeve 34:, and the teeth of the gear element 38 extend three fourths of'the distance around the said sleeve, while the teeth of the gear element 39 extend only half way around the shiftable sleeve. The shiftable sleeve and the gear 40 are so proportioned that when the complete gear element 37 is in mesh with the gear 40, the seed disks will be rotated a sufficient distance to drop four kernels of corn. \Vhen the gear element 38 is arranged in mesh with the gear 40, the shaft 4: is rotated a distance sufiioientto drop three kernels of corn, and when the gear element 39 is arranged to mesh with the gear 40 only two kernels of corn are dropped. This will enable four kernels of corn to be planted where the ground is rich, three kernels where the ground is medium good, and two kernels where the land is poor. By planting the corn in this manner, ears of more even size are grown over the same field.

The shiftable sleeve is provided at one end with a reduced neck as, having a groove 4:3, which is engaged by a fork 44, connected by a pin or pivot 45 with one end of a shifting lever 46. The shifting lever 46 is pivoted at an intermediate point to a supporting bracket 47, equipped with an arcuate series of teeth 48, arranged to be engaged by the shifting lever for securing the slidable sleeve in its adjustment. The shifting lever extends rearwardly and is provided at its rear end with a handle adapted to be readily grasped by the operator.

hat is claimed is 1. in a planter, the combination with seed feeding means, of a transverse shaft carrying means at each end for operating the seed feeding means, a pinion on the transverse shaft, a countershaft spaced from and in parallelism with the transverse shaft, a check wire controlled clutch mounted on the countershaft for transmitting motion to the same, a sleeve slidably interlocked with the countershaft and having a plurality of sets of teeth adapted to be carried into mesh with the said pinion for varying the extent of operation of the seed dropping mechanism, and operating means directly connected with the slidable sleeve to shift the same, and means for locking the operating means in its adjustment.

2. In a planter, the combination with seed dropping mechanism, of a transverse shaft extending across the planter, gearing for connecting the end portions of the said shaft with the seed dropping mechanism, a gear mounted on the transverse shaft between the ends thereof in a relatively fixed position, a countershaft, a shiftable gear slidably interlocked with the countershaft and having a plurality of sets of teeth adapted to be carried into mesh with the relatively fixed gear of the transverse shaft to vary the extent of the operation of the seed dropping mechanism, operating mechanism directly connected with the shiftable gear and adapted to manually shift the same, a continuously rotatable gear mounted on the said countershaft and consisting of a loose sleeve provided at its inner end with a projecting tappet, a sleeve fixed to the countershaft in spaced relation with the loose sleeve and provided with a dog arranged to engage the said tappet, and a check wire controlled arm movable into and out of the path of the dog for disengaging the same from the tappet.

3. A planter comprising seed feeding means, a transverse shaft carrying means at each end for operating the seed feeding means, a pinion on the transverse shaft, a countershaft spaced from and in parallelism with the transverse shaft, a check wire controlled clutch on the said countershaft, adjustable means also on the countershaft adapted to directly engage the pinion for varying the degrees of movement, and mech anism for manually operating the said adjustable means including a locking device for securing the adjustable means in its adjusted positions.

41;. A planter comprising seed feeding means, a transverse shaft carrying means at each end for operating the seed feeding means, a pinion on the transverse shaft, a countershaft spaced from and in parallelism with the transverse shaft, a check Wire controlled clutch on the said countershaft, a

member slidable along the said countershaft and provided With means for engaging the pinion for varying degrees of movement, and operating mechanism for manually adjusting the said member including a locking 20 HANS CHRISTOFFERSEN.

l Vitnesses:

Gno. W. KRU'MM, F. J. lvns.

Copies 0! this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. Q. 

